The following morning, after taking the first hour to explain why I wouldn't be coming along to Scarlett. (She was surprisingly understanding) We all gathered outside the ships boarding ramp to say our goodbyes.

Asami: “I can’t believe your not coming. I really needed you to back me up at that meeting.” I shrugged, though I was genuinely regretful. With Future Industries having taken as heavy a hit as it had, Asami had moved to bring in a financial partner, and had asked me to be present at the meeting. Apparently knowing the Dark One could be a rather impressive thing.

You: “I know, but with all the commotion going on here, and Lin’s best cop going with you.” We both turned, finding said ‘best’ officer currently chatting away with his girlfriend. “She wants me to stay here in case something goes down.” I lied. Personally I felt Mako was to… shall we say emotional, to be a cop, much less the detective I’d overheard he wanted to be. But then again, I had a disembodied voice in my head that berated me everytime I didn’t reveal my affection for the aforementioned girlfriend, so who was I to judge? “Besides.. It’s not like you truly needed me to help seal the deal.” She rolled her eyes.

Asami: “True, but let’s be honest. I wanted you there more for the scare factor. Big, tough Dark One on my side? Who would say no to a deal with me?” I chuckled.

You: “Well if it’s just a bodyguard you want, why not take Bolin?” Said earthbender was currently running around with the three airbending children. Apparently Ikki had taken it upon herself to steal away Pabu, and now the three of them were passing him along to keep him out of reach of Bolin. When my eyes met Asami’s again, she was clearly unconvinced. “What? He can LOOK imposing. Never said he was.” Again she rolled her eyes, this time with a short chuckle.

Asami: “Fine.. But you owe me.”

You: “Deal.” She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around my neck as I wrapped mine around her waist.

Asami: “Be safe (F/N).”

You: “Aren’t I always?” She slapped me lightly on the shoulder as I laughed alongside her. After which she made here way on board the ship.

You: “Not difficult to believe Lin demanded I stick around to keep things quiet.” He chuckled in agreement.

Tenzin: “So while we’re gone, what will you actually be doing?”

You: “If all goes as planned, I’ll rip the information out of the assassin in the basement. And take down their hidden base. Best case scenario says I catch them before they report my existence to Sidious.”

Tenzin: “And worst case?” I huffed lightly, trying to keep up my smirk for the others that weren’t aware of the situation.

You: “Full scale planetary invasion.” Tenzin nearly choked on his own breath. “Relax… there's a very minimal chance of that happening.”

Tenzin: “If you say so.” I turned to him, meeting his gaze strongly.

You: “Go, relax, enjoy your time with your family. I’ll handle things.” His hand found my shoulder as he squeezed it lightly.

Tenzin: “I have faith you will.” He turned, finding his children had managed to wrestle Bolin to the ground.

Bolin: “Little help?” Jinora and Ikki were sitting on his back, with Ikki still clinging to Pabu and Jinora holding Bolin’s arm behind his back. Meelo was currently perched atop his head. An exasperated sigh escaped Tenzin’s lips before he marched over to force his children to release their prisoner. As he began wrestling with the first three, Pema came up with Rohan in her arms and a warm smile across her face.

Pema: “I’m going to miss my live in babysitter.” She joked. I laughed along, albeit rather forcefully. If there was one thing I was not going to miss while handling this situation, it was watching the tornadoing three.

You: “Darn.” I snapped my fingers. “And here I thought you liked me for me.” She rolled her eyes before opening her one free arm, wrapping it around my shoulders in a tight squeeze. “I’ll miss you too Pema.” As I hugged her back, a small hand tugged at the fold of my robes. Apparently Rohan had found interest in the color, as he was completely absorbed by the fabric. “And you little man, better stay out of trouble.” I tapped his nose with my finger, to which he responded by trading my robes for it. Even going so far as to stick it in his mouth. “I wouldn’t do that.” I ripped the digit away. “With as much lighting that has flowed through that finger I doubt it tastes anything but char-grilled.” Pema laughed as Rohan reached for the finger, having apparently grown a taste for char-grilled digits.

Pema: “Be safe. You never know what’s hiding around the corner.” If only she knew.

You: “I’ll take that to heart Pema, thank you.” She smiled again as she followed her husband inside the ship. All three of his children hanging off of him in some manner. Bolin shot me a quick embarrassed wave before rushing in himself. “Bolin!” I called, catching his attention before he could disappear inside. He turned back to me with a questioning glance. “Got your spoon?” He sighed, deflating as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his still bent spoon to show me. “Keep practicing, you’ll get it soon.” He waved me off unenthusiastically before disappearing himself. Bumi followed suit. We shared no goodbye, but we did share a short look. A mutual understanding between us, between soldiers regarding what is going to be happening. He disappeared soon after. Then there the last two. After a few more moments of what I could only assume was arguing with Mako, Korra walked up to me, Scarlett in tow. “Thank you again for watching her while I’m gone. And I already Radioed Katara. She’s just fine with taking Scarlett off your hands if I end up gone for longer then expected.” She shook her head, a small smile on her face.Korra” “I have no problem watching over Scarlett. We’re gonna have loads of fun anyway, aren't we?” SHe turned down to meet Scarlett's eyes. Thankfully she was smiling right along.

Scarlett: “Yeah! Fun!”

Korra: Now that she’s getting more comfortable with talking especially, things should be a little easier.”

You: “I bet. I’m sure the two of you will have loads of fun at the festival.” I kneeled down, meeting Scarlett at her eye level. “You be good for Korra ok?” She nodded vigorously. “I’ll try to fix this as fast as I can, maybe I can even meet up with you guys in the south pole later.”

Scarlett: “Hope so.” She jumped forward, wrapping her arms around my neck tightly. I hugged her back, holding her close as I could. “Miss you.”

You: “I’ll miss you too.” After a moment longer, she released me. Allowing me to stand straight again. “Packed your sword?” Korra nodded, thrusting her thumb over her shoulder towards the ship.

Korra: “Already on board. Same as the staffs. Don’t worry, I thought of everything.” I cocked my brow.

You: “Is that right? What about the ring?” She chuckled, holding out her hand to show me the black holocron wrapped around her right middle finger. “And the crystal?” She reached into her pocket, pulling out the crimson jewel.

Korra: “Satisfied?”

You: “As I’ll ever be.” Her eyes rolled in response. “Yes, seems you really did think of everything.” Her lips broke into a wide, cheeky grin.

Korra: “Told you so.” She chuckled. As she did, I noticed someone hovering nearby from over her shoulder. Someone with a rather irritated scowl on his face.

You: “Is HE going to be ok with Scarlett hanging around you?” She turned, to which Mako immediately diverted his gaze. Pretending to be intensely fascinated by the boarding ramp of the ship.

Korra: “He likes Scarlett as much as anyone.” She turned back. “It’s you he has the issue with.” I cocked my brow. “Apparently he thinks we’ve been spending to much time together.”

You: “So I gathered.” I looked over Mako a few moments longer before meeting Korra’s eyes again. “Hopefully this time without me helps cure him of his jealousy.. That being said, be careful of it. Jealousy can be a fickle and dangerous thing.”

Korra: “We’ve talked about it. He seems to think he isn’t the jealous type.”

You: “all evidence to the contrary.” We shares a laugh. “Go, have fun and try to keep Mako as calm as possible.” I turned back down to Scarlett. “Be good for Korra, and tell Katara I said hi.” She nodded. “Practice often.” I looked between the two. They nodded, then wrapped me in another quick hug before turning together to board the ship. As they left, I met Mako’s gaze. He was glaring at me. I just smirked back. “Try not to pop a vein Mako. I’ve heard it’s rather painful.” He just huffed in response before disappearing into the ship. As the boarding ramp began to retract, Korra’s face popped back into view, her hand waving in the air. The ring between her fingers.

Korra: “Hey! You never told me how to open this!” I chuckled before yelling back.

You: “Just remember, you have to be at one with yourself before you can open yourself to the possibilities!” The face she made in response. Priceless. She was so utterly confused.

Korra: “...... What does that even me….!?” The door of the ship closed on her, cutting her off. It took everything I had to not burst out laughing in that moment. Even as the ship blared its horn and began sailing off, It was all I could to to not fall to the floor in giggling tears. No matter how wonderful a distraction Korra’s agitated confusion was though, the matter at hand still weighed heavily on the back of my mind. I stayed on the docks until the ship shrank into the distance, disappearing past the horizon before I felt comfortable moving ahead. I made my way back into the temple, waking my way through the maze of halls until I found the entryway to the basement. The stairwell was pitch black, was was the room once I entered. But I did not need my eyes to see the assassin.

You: “Oh, I’m well aware of where you are.. Afterall, I don’t need my eyes. Of have you forgotten already.” There was a short huff.

???: “You were lucky. Nothing more.”

You: “Luck had nothing to do with it. It was pure skill.”

???: “So the child was what then? Another of your dark side abilities?” I walked over in the darkness, coming to stand before the still imprisoned assassin. “Yes, I know who you are. And I do not fear you Lord Vane.” I chuckled darkly, as I usually did when I intended to send chills up the spine of my enemies.

You: “If you know who I am…” I bent down, coming eye level with them, allowing my mask to fall away. Once ready, I snapped my fingers, and the lights flickered on with it. “Then you know the gravity of your mistake.” Their eyes met mine defiantly. A deep brown I noticed. So deep they almost seemed black. Though their face was hidden behind a black sash, I expected those eyes to give away the fear in their mind. Yet as I stared with the intensity of my yellow eyes, nothing happened. There was no reaction. Nothing. “Hmm.” I stood to full height again.

???: “Disappointed?”

You: “Hardly..” I chuckled. “So you did not cower at the sight of my eyes. I have plenty of other ways to get what I want.”

???: “And what is it you want?” I didn’t answer, instead reaching over, and tearing the sash away from their face. Beneath, to my surprise, was a young woman. She couldn't have been older then twenty, her pale skin flawless, save for a single scar that crossed through her cheek under her left eye. Her cropped black hair messy from having the sash ripped way so suddenly.

You: “To know who you are for one. And..” From my belt, I pulled Ashara’s saber, activating the sapphire blade. Her face became illuminated by the blue light. “To know where you got this.” Her eyes darted between the saber and my face, again never showing any fear. “Do you even know what this is? Are you even aware of its meaning?” The solidity of her features were replaced with confusion, uncertainty in what to say. “Did your Master even explain what this was?”

???: “Who’s to say I am not the Master?” SHe responded instantly. “ It was I who led my two sisters to kill you. I and I alone.”

You: “Now that I know to be a lie.” I deactivated the blade, clipping it back to my belt before calling a chair from the far corner. I sat before her my arms rested in my lap. “I know there is someone else. Someone told you of me, of the name Darth Vane… and someone told you to bring your sisters and kill me, with this.” I pulled the dart from my pocket. “Who?” She stood firmly silent. I just shook my head. This line of questioning was getting tedious. I raised my hand, waving it across her face once. “You will tell me who your Master is.” There was a brief flicker of fog behind her eyes, but it faded as she shook her head to clear it.

???: “No.” She stated firmly. I tried again, putting more effort into the mind trick.

You: “You WILL tell me.” Again she fought off the fog.

???: “No.” I couldn't help but chuckle.

You: “Well you are certainly not weak minded. But are you weak willed?” I reached forward again, this time forcing myself into her mind through the Probe. The discomfort was evident in her face, as her teeth bared and grinded against each other. I was able to pull flashes. A figure in a black robe, an academy, A child being ripped from their mothers arms… no, this woman being ripped from her parents. The Fire Nation. A lightsaber. “Damn!” I was force out, both of us left panting from our unique efforts. “You are certainly Fire Nation. Strong of heart and mind.” She looked up to me, pure rage and hate filling her eyes. “Who are they? Who is the one in the cloak?” She remained stoic. Refusing to answer. “I will rip those answers from you one way or another. Now who is…” She spat, directly into my face. That defiance heavy in her eyes.

???: “I will tell you nothing.” I responded by punching her in the throat. She gagged as the breath left her, as I wiped the intruding liquid from my face.

You: “If you do that again, I will cut out your tongue and shove it down your throat. Are we clear?” She gasped a few more times, unable to make eye contact. “I said…” I grabbed her throat, forcing her eyes up to meet mine. She was still gasping as I squeezed. “Are. We. Clear?” There it was, the fear.

???: “...yes…”

You: “Good.” I released her, allowing her to catch her breath as I pondered my next move. “Who is in the Cloak?” She coughed a bit more before meeting my gaze again.

???: “He. Is the Master.”

You: “Who is he?”

???: “I don’t know. He has never revealed his true name to us. Only that he has powers like you.. He is the one that gave me that.” She nudged her chin towards the lightsaber at my hip. “Along with the dart. He told us that it would allow us to defeat you.”

You: “Who were the others?”

???: “Others?”

You: “The others I saw.. It is an Academy yes?” She nodded. “Then the others? Students?”

???: “Yes.. Students, like me. I am…” Her gaze fell. “Was, the best of them.”

You: “And now that you’ve failed to kill me… You failed him.” Again, she nodded. “Then what loyalty do you have to him?”

???: “He is my Master. He has trained me since I was a girl, I have known nothing else.” I hummed. She didn't know, she couldn't remember being taken from her family. “If your going to kill me, just do it. I have nothing left here.”

You: “Oh no, no, no. Not yet. I will kill you, just as I did your sisters, just not yet. No, first I need you too tell me everything I need to know. Starting with where exactly this Academy of your is.”

???: “You think I would give that up so easily? I may have failed my master, but he is STILL my MASTER. My loyalty is to him. Not you.” I pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation. This woman was becoming more of a nuisance then anything.

You: ‘What about you? Any ideas?’ I thought inwardly.

___: ‘What, you’re asking me?’

You: ‘No, the OTHER voice in my head.’

___: ‘Oh, I’m sorry. Usually when I voice an opinion I get smacked around for it.’

You: ‘..... Ideas. Now.’ I demanded.

___: ‘Fine…. She’s to strong of will for the probe again. Forcing it further could rip her mind apart. Torturing her… no, she’s to loyal. And if this Master of hers is a sith, chances are anything we could dish out she’d already experienced.. Anything stronger would kill her.’

You: ‘Wonderful, back to square one again.’

___: ‘Wait.. what about a tracker? Someone that could use her to find out where she came from?’

You: ‘You mean like that bounty hunter with the Shirshu? What was her name…?’

___: ‘Uh… damn.. Wait, JUNE! Her name was June.’

You: ‘Oh yeah… Wait.. it’s been 70 years… she’s likely dead.’

___: ‘True, doesn’t mean the Shirshu went extinct though.’

You: ‘True.. but… what if we don’t need it? What about…?’

___: ‘Well maybe… assuming she hasn’t died.’

You: ‘Oh no… she’s alive.. And if I know her.. She’ll help us.’

???: “uh…. Hello?” Right, I’d likely just been staring at her blankly for a solid minute while arguing with myself internally. It was settled though. I knew exactly how to find out what I needed to know. I reached forward again, my palm open, then crushed the air between my fingers. The stone encasing the would be assassin crumbled away, releasing her from her makeshift prison. She flexed a bit, rolling her shoulders as she cracked her neck. “You have NO idea how uncomfortable that was.”

You: “Apologies, I don’t think we had comfort in mind at the moment.” I dead panned. We stood in silence for a moment, staring directly at the other… then she rushed to the side, bouncing off the basement wall and rushing to the door.

___: ‘There it is.. Took her a minute more then expected.’ Just as she reached the staircase, she stopped mid step, completely frozen in place.

???: “I.. I can’t move. I can’t…”

You: “THAT… is another of my abilities.” I came round herm my hand extended toward her. “Now I can keep this up for a while, but not long enough to get where we’re going.. So we have two choices.. One: I crush your legs here and now and I carry you the rest of the way. Two: I release you, and you come along willingly. Your choice.” She looked at me in bewilderment. Whether it was because I was so willing to do her bodily harm or because I was giving her an option at all I wasn’t sure. But after a brief moment she decided, responding with a loud gulp.

???: “I would prefer the second option.” I released her immediately. Turning to make my way up the stairs. Half way up I turned back.

You: “Well?” She hurried up, keeping a short distance away as she followed. We made our way towards the edge of the far side of the island. “I believe you know how to fly this?” I gestured down towards the semi hidden airship, hovering just below the cliff. She nodded. “Good. After you.” She jumped down, opening a hatch at the top to allow us inside. As I followed her inside, I took notice of the symbol on the side.. The Ship was predictably black. But the seal was unusual. It was the the symbol of the Empire, but surrounding it was a large skull.. Strange. I brushed it off. I would find out who was in charge of this Academy soon enough. I jumped in after her, finding her already at the bridge, piloting the thing away from the clifface and the island. “You never answered my question.” She perked up but did not turn from the window. “Who are you?” She sighed… “We’re going to be in this metal can for a time together, may as well know your name.” She turned to me at last, hesitation evident in her face.

???: ….. Jeriah, You can call me Jeriah, Lord Vane.”

You: “(F/N) Jeriah, My name is (F/N) (L/N). It’s been a long time since I was Darth Vane.” I sat in the chair opposite her, wanting to keep an eye on her until we arrived.Jeriah: “...So what does it mean?”

You: “What?” I turned to her, confusion weighing heavily.

Jeriah: “The weapon, the blue bladed cylinder. You said it meant something, what does it mean?”

You: “You’re serious?” She nodded. “First of all, it’s called a Lightsaber. Not a bladed cylinder.”

Jeriah: “Apologies, the Master never told us what it was called, only what it could do.”

You: “As for its meaning…” I paused, debating whether it was worth it to tell her anything about the saber. After a brief moment though, I decided no true harm could come of it. “It.. belonged to my daughter.”

Jeriah: “The black haired child in the temple? She has a weap… Lightsaber?” Jeriah turned to me in confusion. I scoffed.

You: “No, Scarlett is not my daughter. There was another, many years ago.”

Jeriah: “Could have fooled me, the way you reacted after I kicked her aside.”

You: “That was you?”

Jeriah: “Yes, and I whole heartedly regret it.. Had I known you were as powerful as this.. Well, things would have gone differently.”

You: “hmmm.. I’d say the burns are well deserved.”

Jeriah: “It is comments like that that will have people believe she is your daughter.” She turned to me, her Brown eyes meeting my still yellow ones. “You may not consider her as one, but you certainly treat her as your own child.” I stared back, hard.

You: “Focus on flying.”

Jeriah: “And where exactly are we flying to? I cant pilot this to an unknown destination.” I turned back to the window.

So with regards to how this is gonna be written. Next couple of chapters are likely going to be single POV's. Meaning one chapter may be from the readers POV, and the other may be from one of the characters POV.. Likely Korra. As always let me know what you think in the comments below!!I don't own The Last Airbender, the Legend of Korra, Star Wars, the images used, or you.